Moses - Man or Myth? - A Pagan Legend?

     Critics say that Moses' rescue from the Nile River sounds suspiciously similar to the ancient legend King of Sargon of Akkah-a story that some say predates the story of Moses. It also tells of an infant in a basket who was rescued from a river. 

However, history is full of coincidences. And placing an infant in a river may not have been as unusual as it might seem. Observes Biblical Archaeology Review: "We should also note that Babylonia and Egypt are both riverine cultures and that putting a baby in a waterproof basket might be a little more satisfactory way to dispose of an infant than throwing it on a rubbish heap, which was more unusual. . . . The story of the foundling rising to eminence may be motif of folklore, that is surely because it is a story that occurs repeatedly in real life."

In his book Exploring Exodus, Nahum M. Sarna observes that while there are some similarities, the story of Moses' birth departs from "The legend of Sargon" in many significant respects." Claims the Bible account was derived from a pagan legend thus ring hollow.

Next time: Moses - Man or Myth? - Adopted Into Pharaoh's Household

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